An ISDA Protocol takes the strain out of the re-documentation. The Protocol is an agreed non-negotiable set of amendments which market participants can adhere to. You adhere once to the Protocol and check the website to monitor which of your counterparties have also adhered to those amendments. The Documentation between you and each adhering party is automatically amended as a result of you both adhering to the Protocol.

ISDA's most recent research paper (attached below) provides evidence of the increased activity in compressions, particularly those to reduce the number of interest rate swaps. BIS attributes to compressions the 10% reduction in IRS notionals in the second half of 2014. According to ISDA, the incentive to reduce capital requirements under Basel combined with the new technology solutions, are the main drivers of the increased activity.

Derivatives end users are concerned about the impact of new margin requirements for non-cleared derivatives, with a large number unsure whether they will even have to comply with the rules, according to new survey published today by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA).